The Mystery of Lyle and Louise 1

The Investigation

Rev. 6/10/2013

The Mystery of Lyle and Louise2

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The Mystery of Lyle and Louise 3

The Investigation

NINE days ago, during the night of a sudden summer thunderstorm, the Mondelo family

car went over the side of Backbone Mountain and caught fire on impact. Three bodies were found in the wreckage; an adult woman, a teenage male, and a female child. All were burned beyond recognition. The three victims were identified as Louise Mon-delo and her children, Wally and Jan, by personal effects that survived the fire.

Pictures of the scene were recorded but, due to the rainstorm, the crash was initially believed to be simply a tragic accident and was not treated as a crime scene. When Lyle Mondelo could not be reached and was found to be missing, he became a possible suspect, and the wreckage was thoroughly processed. The scene was substantially disturbed and some evidence was undoubtedly lost. However, upon retracing the path of the vehicle, investiga-tors found several pieces of broken glass lying in the roadway. Becoming increasingly more suspicious of

foul play, the broken glass fragments were pack-aged and retained. In addition, investigators cut and removed a section of charred carpet from the vehicle for further laboratory analysis. The bodies, as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, were kept in the county morgue.

The small town of Highland Park was shocked, since nothing this terrible had ever happened in the area. Tips from neighbors and friends poured into the police department, but none of the tips were eyewitness accounts or provided specific informa-tion regarding the car accident. Lyle was the likely suspect but was nowhere to be found. An all-points bulletin was issued for everyone to be on the look-out for Lyle Mondelo. He was presumed armed and dangerous and to be driving a missing, blue, 1993 Ford Ranger with Tumbling Water Land Develop-ment Co. logos. Four days ago, Lyle Mondelo’s cred-it card was used to purchase gasoline and food at a gas station in Texas.

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The InvestigationWhen contacted, business associate John Wayne Gretzky told investigators that Lyle had been slip-ping into a deep depression because of trouble at their jointly owned business, Tumbling Water Land Development Company. Gretzky also hinted that there had been problems in the Mondelo family. At this time, investigators noticed that John had a large bite mark on his upper arm. When asked about the wound, Gretzky claimed to have been bit during a bar fight the night before and allowed the bite to be photographed. He was not held or charged with any crime.

Background Investigation

With no additional leads, policed launched a full investigation into the Mondelos. Louise Wilson and Lyle Mondelo had met at college while receiving Business Degrees in Management. They married in college and moved to Highland Park, Louise’s home-town, after graduation. The town was still ailing at the time, suffering from the shut down of the mines a little over a decade ago. Although at first Lyle thought their business prospects in the small town were poor, he soon discovered that money could be made developing land for the private lodges and ski resorts that employed most of the residents.

After returning to Highland Park, Louise ran into her old high school sweet heart, John Wayne Gretz-ky. While talking to him, Louise learned that he was also a developer. Glad to see an old friend, and think-ing that a favorable business relationship could de-velop, Louise asked John to meet with her and Lyle over dinner. Lyle and John soon became friends, and rather than compete for business against each other, the three decided to join together and start Tumbling Water Land Development Company.

A year after Tumbling Water was founded, Lou-ise conceived her first child, Wally. Friends of the Mondelos said that Lyle suspected Louise and John of having an affair at the time, and the two nearly divorced. The couple worked out their relationship with the help of a marriage counselor.

Tumbling Water became prosperous and was able to buy several hundred acres of land adjacent to

Blackrock River, a prime recreational waterway. Soon thereafter, Louise had another child, Jan, and took leave from the office to work from home while she raised the two children. Friends say that Lou-ise never really went back to Tumbling Water, even after the children were older and in school. Their friends also suggested that Lyle and Louise’s rela-tionship was healthier with them not working to-gether.

Tumbling Waters’ lawyer told investigators that she began preparing bankruptcy papers for the company about a year ago; the ski resort was drag-ging out negotiations for a property purchase, and the company’s other business deals weren’t mak-ing enough profit to keep the business afloat. Soon after being asked to begin the bankruptcy filing, though, she said an unexpected deal was made to build a number of fishing cabins on the Blackrock River land. That was enough to keep the business going, and after that, Tumbling Water began mak-ing deals at a steady rate.

Pending Divorce

Two weeks before the crash, Louise Mondelo filed for divorce. Friends say she told them that she sus-pected Lyle of being involved with drugs, but that they believed she was involved with John Wayne Gretzky again. Two days later after filing for di-vorce, Louise requested a restraining order against Lyle, stating that Lyle had harassed her and the children. Louise also told police that she was afraid that Lyle might try to take the children away.

A Related Case?

A potentially related case recently touched on the Mondelos’ lives. Three weeks ago, a crystal meth-amphetamine lab was discovered in an abandoned camper on Tumbling Water land. Louise’s nephew, Mitch Wilson, and John Wayne’s brother, Larry Gretzky, were found in the lab and indicted for pos-session with intent to sell the 6 kilograms of meth found in the lab. Two days later they were both re-leased on bond, posted by Lyle Mondelo and John Gretzky. Mitch and Larry gave no names of possible suppliers or dealers.

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When attempting to contact Mitch Wilson and Larry Gretzky for questioning about the car accident, police discovered that they had both skipped town along with Larry’s girl-friend, Mary Bradey. Authorities believed that their disappearance could be related to the accident, and they were described as pos-sibly armed and dangerous in the warrant posted for their arrest.

Two days ago, an abandoned blue Ford Rang-er with out-of-state plates was found on a strip of New Mexico highway. The pickup was dirty and a headlight was broken, but investigators noticed a Tumbling Water Land Development Co. sign on the back tailgate. Forced entry was appar-ent. Upon access to the truck, investigators discov-ered several pieces of trace evidence and sent it to Highland Park for analysis.

At the Scene

This morning the bodies of two deceased victims were discovered in a remote fishing cabin on prop-erty owned by Tumbling Water Land Development Company. The cabin, isolated from view of the main road and deeply buried in the thick woods, lies along the bank of the Blackrock River and is acces-sible only by a gravel road cutting into the forest. Soon after the bodies were discovered, the small cabin was surrounded by police tape and investiga-tors combing the scene in search of evidence.

Detective Mur-ray, the lead in-vestigator in the case, explained, “A Girl Scout on a hiking trip found the vic-tims about an hour and a half ago. There are two bodies in-side, both in ad-vanced stages

of decomp; PMI undetermined. The female vic was identified as Louise Mondelo, the same woman identified in the car that ran off Backbone Moun-tain and caught fire during the storm last weekend. The bodies are in bad shape, but hopefully we’ll get a positive ID when DNA analysis comes back.”

Inside the cabin the smell of advanced human de-cay was overwhelming. The overturned chairs and tables led investigators to conclude that a violent struggle had taken place. The smaller body, dressed in a blouse and jeans, was found near the phone in the kitchen. The larger corpse was dressed in a man’s polo shirt and slacks lying in the corner to the left of the door, and blood covered the walls and floor around him. Investigators collected maggots from the corpses to help establish a time of death and collected DNA samples from both victims.

While processing the scene, flesh was discovered scraped across the stone of the fireplace, and blood and skin were found on a piece of firewood lying near the woman’s body. Samples of both were col-lected for analysis. The wounds upon the head of the female victim appeared consistent with the firewood, but a definitive determination was diffi-cult to make due to the state of decay.

Outside of the cabin, a set of tire tracks were found deeply rutted in the mud and grass. As none of the investigators had driven near that area, dental stone molds were cast of the tracks and pictures were taken to preserve evidence.

The Investigation

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The CharactersThe Mondelos

Louise Ann Mondelo, the 38 year old wife of Lyle Mondelo and mother of Wally and Jan, is also one of the owners of Tumbling Water Land Development Company. Friends say that Louise was in an unhap-py marriage and had recently filed for divorce.

Lyle Christopher Mondelo, the 40 year old husband of Louise Mondelo and father of Wally and Jan, is a part owner of Tumbling Water Land Development Company along with his wife.

John Wayne Gretzky

John Wayne Gretzky is 41 years old. He is a friend and business partner of the Mondelo’s in the Tum-bling Water Land Development Company. Accord-ing to rumors, John Wayne and Louise had a brief affair when Lyle and Louise first moved to Highland Park. He is known around town to be a greedy busi-nessman, and has been suspected of shady deals in the past.

Wally Mondelo

Jan Mondelo

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The CharactersLarry Gretzky and Mitch Wilson

Larry Gretzky and Mitch Wilson were recently in-dicted on charges related to their apparent opera-tion of a methamphetamine laboratory. Larry was bailed out by his brother, John Wayne, and Mitch was bailed out by his uncle, Lyle Mondelo. Larry and Mitch failed to appear in court and are current-ly missing. Police are interested in locating them for questioning.

Mary Brady

When attempting to contact Mitch Wilson and Lar-ry Gretzky for questioning about the car accident, police discovered that they had both skipped town along with Larry’s girlfriend, Mary Brady.

Mitch Wilson

Larry Gretsky